Alfred, Taiaiake G.: my Marine Corps experiences (May 24, 2007)
Rank: Corporal.
Interviewer: Wood, Jessica D.
An interview/narrative of Corporal Taiaiake G. Alfred's experiences whilst serving with the United States Marine Corps. Interview took place on May 24, 2007.
ABSTRACT: Corporal Taiaiake G. Alfred Taiaiake Alfred.mp3 0:00 Signed up in 1981 at 17 years old. Always wanted to be a soldier, drawn to military. Very focused on shooting guns. Liked idea of doing it in a disciplined way. Always had idea of being a soldier. 1:21 Friend interrupts interview 2:04 Discusses wife's pregnancy. Dreamed of war. Always dreamed of war. Other family had been in military. Grandfather was in Canadian army in WWII on D Day. Kahnawake full of veterans, WWI, WWII, Korea. Family against him enlisting, especially because it was the Marine Corps due to harshness. In 1981, Vietnam had just ended. That's what they associated Marine Corps with. 4:00 Asked a few vets in the community who where in at Peace Time. But they didn't' have horrific things to say about it. Grand uncle was in army in WWII was proud veteran, he said "you're running with a rough crowd." He asked uncle "What do you mean?" "You'll see" he said. Doesn't believe anyone could talk him out of it. 5:00 Bootcamp was to break you down and remould you into what they want you to be. Bootcamp was like Full Metal Jacket Movie. Was to break down personality and sense of pride outside the Marine Corps. Put patriotism aside. Even though it went against our principles as Iroquois people. Some elders let him know it was doing the wrong thing. Didn't go as a Mohawk. 7:00 Went to live as a Marine. Didn't distinguish between races in Marine Corps. They acknowledge racial differences, but everyone is green. I found that to my liking. Socially and out in town… most was black verses white. Surprise at the amount of the hatred they had for one another. Was privileged as aboriginal, whites thought we were one of them, blacks thought we were one of them. Never took sides. 9:00 Stationed in North Carolina. 6 months tour Asia, Japan and Korea. Twice to Caribbean. Once in Central America. Landed in Honduras. 10:00 Specialized in machine gun. M16. Then after a year switched to 50 calibre heavy mounted machine guns. Did 3 years, was a 3 year enlistment for infantry (instead of 4). 11:00 tempted to stay in. Effects of military helped give him a sense of discipline and organization, 12:00 personal discipline and work ethic and ability to negotiate interpersonal relationships and stress situations. 12:30 Politically was more difficult. You are who your friends are. If you are hanging out with a bunch of rabid Americans, you start to think of them. Until I got through all my education I was a lot more conservative in my views (with the exception of Indigenous politics) took awhile to purge mainstream ideas of the world. 13:30 Discusses how he was received by his community when he got out. Some pride attached to being able to go and do something like that. Some respect. Some resentment, from those who couldn't, jealousies, and dismissal… begrudging by way more traditionalists. Not articulated, but attitude they are serving the wrong cause. 14:30 But at the time, there was no warrior society. There was nothing in the early 80's until the cigarette industry started up. Worked in cigarette side of that. But when I was 17 years old there was no lacrosse team, no warrior society, no residential school (not affected much) minimal impact in their community. Overall impact, land loss and alcohol. My rez was a very dysfunctional and violent community at the time. What was the difference in between being in a war zone when every weekend was a war zone on the Rez. 16:45 Discusses early current recruitment programs for aboriginal youth. Canadian military has been used in recent times to try and crush aboriginal communities. How can a young native person want to serve and army that is diametrically opposed to all aboriginal communities? Want to undermine potential resistance and draw on demographic that is loaded up with youth. Targeting aboriginal youth. Fault native leaders encourage that type of thing. 19:00 Besides all the political stuff, people don't realize that the army is about killing. They try and build it up as fun or humanitarian but you only realize that's wrong once you get there. If they are bound and determined to go and kill brown people in the service of white people. Then go ahead. But most people don't think that's what they are signing up for. In reality that's all that armed forces are these days. I'm not a big fan of glorification of war. 20:30 Viable alternatives: It's as if war is normal. There is no need for an alternative. There is no need to go. For violent youth there needs to be an alternative. Warrior societies, offered by our nation. 22:00 Warrior societies are essential or we will continue to lose them to the army. When I was a kid I took advantage of every opportunity, but nothing was structured into anything. Long term. I would have stuck with that, I would have stayed home. 23:00 I was looking for disciplined environment. But it has to be real. When you're that age you want to be part of something big, and with a history, with some weight to it. The propaganda is so good; it is no comparison between rediscovery programs and being a marine. 24:30 Life or death. Need rites of passage. That's what this kind of thing is. 25:30 Wasase Network. Do you see that filling some of the gap? No, it's not. It's more for adults, more political thing. There are some that are connected to Wasase that are connected to things like that. This is more an affiliation of like-minded people with a common political goal. 26:30 Disbandment of West Coast Warriors. 27:00 Summer of protest expected in 2007. 28:00 No channel for the youth to focus their anger and energy. Marine corps was a warrior cult in the US. We don't have that option here. We need a way to channel that. It's a big gap. 30:03 end tape.
Interviewee: Alfred, Taiaiake G.
- In Collection:
- 1 sound recording (MP3)
- 36.5, 127.75
- 14.63333, -88.13333
- 35.68536, 139.75309
- 35.50069, -80.00032
- Original recording (MP3 and WAV) on digital versatile disc (DVD) in Special Collections.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- ATG_473
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- May 24, 2007
- Digital sound recording in .wav format at 16 bits and 44 kHz. In .mp3 format at 64 kbps and 24 kHz. Digitized by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2007. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
- Rights
- This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
- DOI
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